II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 78 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health of pregnant 

women, fetuses, infants, and children by requiring a health advisory 

and drinking water standard for perchlorate. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 2011 

Mrs. BOXER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to protect the health 

of pregnant women, fetuses, infants, and children by 

requiring a health advisory and drinking water standard 

for perchlorate. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Pregnant 

5 Women and Children From Perchlorate Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) perchlorate— 


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1 (A) is a chemical used as the primary in2 gredient of solid rocket propellant; and 

3 (B) is also used in fireworks, road flares, 

4 and other applications; 

5 (2) waste from the manufacture and improper 

6 disposal of chemicals containing perchlorate is in7 creasingly being discovered in soil and water; 

8 (3) according to the Government Accountability 

9 Office, perchlorate contamination has been detected 

10 in water and soil at almost 400 sites in the United 

11 States, with concentration levels ranging from 4 

12 parts per billion to millions of parts per billion; 

13 (4) the Government Accountability Office has 

14 determined that the Environmental Protection Agen15 cy does not centrally track or monitor perchlorate 

16 detections or the status of perchlorate cleanup, so a 

17 greater number of contaminated sites may already 

18 exist; 

19 (5) according to the Government Accountability 

20 Office, limited Environmental Protection Agency 

21 data show that perchlorate has been found in 35 

22 States and the District of Columbia and is known to 

23 have contaminated 153 public water systems in 26 

24 States; 


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1 (6) those data are likely underestimates of total 

2 drinking water exposure, as illustrated by the find3 ing of the California Department of Health Services 

4 that perchlorate contamination sites have affected 

5 approximately 273 drinking water sources and 86 

6 drinking water systems in the State of California 

7 alone; 

8 (7) Food and Drug Administration scientists 

9 and other scientific researchers have detected per10 chlorate in the United States food supply, including 

11 in lettuce, milk, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, canta12 loupe, wheat, and spinach, and in human breast 

13 milk; 

14 (8)(A) perchlorate can harm human health, es15 pecially in pregnant women and children, by inter16 fering with uptake of iodide by the thyroid gland, 

17 which is necessary to produce important hormones 

18 that help control human health and development; 

19 (B) in adults, the thyroid helps to regulate me20 tabolism; 

21 (C) in children, the thyroid helps to ensure 

22 proper mental and physical development; and 

23 (D) impairment of thyroid function in expectant 

24 mothers or infants may result in effects including 


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1 delayed development and decreased learning capa2 bility; 

3 (9)(A) in October 2006, researchers from the 

4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pub5 lished the largest, most comprehensive study to date 

6 on the effects of low levels of perchlorate exposure 

7 in women, finding that— 

8 (i) significant changes existed in thyroid 

9 hormones in women with low iodine levels who 

10 were exposed to perchlorate; and 

11 (ii) even low-level perchlorate exposure may 

12 affect the production of hormones by the thy13 roid in iodine-deficient women; and 

14 (B) in the United States, about 36 percent of 

15 women have iodine levels equivalent to or below the 

16 levels of the women in the study described in sub17 paragraph (A); and 

18 (10) the Environmental Protection Agency has 

19 not established a health advisory or national primary 

20 drinking water regulation for perchlorate, but in21 stead established a ‘‘Drinking Water Equivalent 

22 Level’’ of 24.5 parts per billion for perchlorate, 

23 which— 

24 (A) does not take into consideration all 

25 routes of exposure to perchlorate; 


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1 (B) has been criticized by experts as fail2 ing to sufficiently consider the body weight, 

3 unique exposure, and vulnerabilities of certain 

4 pregnant women and fetuses, infants, and chil5 dren; and 

6 (C) is based primarily on a small study 

7 and does not take into account new, larger 

8 studies of the Centers for Disease Control and 

9 Prevention or other data indicating potential ef10 fects at lower perchlorate levels than previously 

11 found. 

12 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

13 (1) to require the Administrator of the Environ14 mental Protection Agency to establish, by not later 

15 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 

16 Act, a health advisory for perchlorate in drinking 

17 water that— 

18 (A) is fully protective of, and considers, 

19 the body weight and exposure patterns of preg20 nant women, infants, and children; 

21 (B) provides an adequate margin of safety; 

22 and 

23 (C) takes into account all routes of expo24 sure to perchlorate; 


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1 (2) to require the Administrator of the Environ2 mental Protection Agency to establish not later than 

3 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act a na4 tional primary drinking water regulation for per5 chlorate that fully protects pregnant women, infants, 

6 and children, taking into consideration body weight, 

7 exposure patterns, and all routes of exposure to per8 chlorate. 

9 SEC. 3. HEALTH ADVISORY AND NATIONAL PRIMARY 

10 DRINKING WATER REGULATION FOR PER11 CHLORATE. 

12 Section 1412(b)(12) of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 300g–1(b)(12)) is amended by adding at the 

14 end the following: 

15 ‘‘(C) PERCHLORATE.— 

16 ‘‘(i) HEALTH ADVISORY.—Notwith17 standing any other provision of this sec18 tion, not later than 90 days after the date 

19 of enactment of this subparagraph, the Ad20 ministrator shall publish a health advisory 

21 for perchlorate that is fully protective, with 

22 an adequate margin of safety, of the health 

23 of vulnerable persons (including pregnant 

24 women, infants, and children), taking into 


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1 consideration body weight, exposure pat2 terns, and all routes of exposure. 

3 ‘‘(ii) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Not4 withstanding any other provision of this 

5 section, the Administrator shall propose 

6 (not later than 180 days after the date of 

7 enactment of this subparagraph) and shall 

8 finalize (not later than 1 year after the 

9 date of enactment of this subparagraph) a 

10 national primary drinking water regulation 

11 for perchlorate— 

12 ‘‘(I) that based on the factors in 

13 clause (i) and other relevant data, is 

14 protective, with an adequate margin 

15 of safety, of vulnerable persons (in16 cluding pregnant women, infants, and 

17 children); and 

18 ‘‘(II) the maximum contaminant 

19 level of which is as close to the max20 imum contaminant level goal for per21 chlorate, and as protective of vulner22 able persons, as is feasible.’’. 

Æ 


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